An Opposite Effect – A Legislative Stall
This is something I posted previously on the Poker Sift Blog. I’ve written a few things there and I’ve decided to repost here.
The upcoming Presidential election will have no effect on Online Poker in any way. Let me repeat that, The upcoming Presidential election will have no effect on Online Poker in any way.
Our plight is not an issue that will be determined by the Executive Branch of government. It will be determined by the Legislative Branch. Unfortunately the Legislative Branch is composed of the most “out of touch” members of our society. As a whole they claim to “feel your pain:, or “connect with the working man”, but these are just words. Words they use to position themselves for re-election. If you are ever in doubt of this fact I encourage you to write your congressmen. The middle of the road, non committal response you get will leave you with no doubt.
The passing of the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act) was supposed to be a dark day for the online poker world, and in some ways it was. In others, not so much. The story line isn’t new. Some of the major players in the U.S. poker market left the Country. Others stayed. Those that stayed have thrived in the market and even though depositing money online had to change, it was still easy to do. Companies like ePassporte stepped in to take over the vacancy left by Neteller. The sites themselves even tried their own depositing methods. In the grand scheme of things it’s business as usual for most active poker enthusiasts.
What the UIGEA did do was place a stigma on the act of online poker. The legalities of playing were brought into question and some choose to interpret the act of playing poker online to be illegal. It’s not. Not in a Federal Government sense although some states have expressly outlawed the game.
There was hope that the WTO (World Trade Organization) would step in and levy sanctions on the U.S. in response to the Antigua/Barbados complaint of losing business. Instead of a 3 billion dollar fine annually, the U.S. Government was cradled with 21 million annually. A mere pittance in the grand scheme of world trade.
Foreign Governments have even began to take aspects of the UIGEA unto themselves. Germany recently passed the German Interstate Treaty which bans all forms of online gambling except horse racing. Sound familiar?
It won’t be foreign pressure that repeals the UIGEA. There are bills in congress now to do that, but let’s face it, it’s not likely to happen. This is a big year for the political process so any issue that may be considered “hotbutton” will be shelved till later.
H.R.2046 which will provide for the licensing of Internet gambling facilities has been been in Subcommittee since April, 2007.
H.R.2610 which sets out to clarify the applicability of such provisions to games of skill has been in Subcommittee since June, 2007.
H.R.2140 which wants a study by the National Academy of Sciences to identify the proper response of the United States to the growth of Internet gambling has been in Committee since May, 2007.
H.R.2607 which more broadly wants to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to regulate Internet gambling was referred to Committee in June, 2007.
Therein lies our current hopes for the release from UIGEA control. Mired in committees to quite possibly never see the light of open debate.
